CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (TNPDCL) has filed a petition before the Tamil Nadu Electricity Regulatory Commission (TNERC) seeking approval to increase the additional surcharge payable by open access consumers from the present rate of 10 paise per unit to Rs 1.14 per unit.
If TNERC accepts the proposal and issues necessary orders, open access consumers — referring to the category of high tension (HT) consumers who buy (electricity) from third party sale and power exchanges — have to pay the new additional surcharge for the period from October 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
The commission has ordered that the petition be uploaded on its website for public comments and has fixed September 16 as the date for the next hearing. It has asked all comments to be submitted latest by September 2. K Venkatachalam, Chief Advisor and CEO of Renewable Energy Producers Association, told TNIE, “The proposed additional surcharge of Rs 1.14 is nearly 12 times higher, which is highly abnormal.
Already, we are paying around Rs 10 per unit towards wheeling charges, cross-subsidy and other costs on power transmission. Open access consumers are already burdened by the multi-year tariff year on year. At this stage, the fresh hike to the extent to be increased, will hit the industries, especially spinning mills, hard.”
Sources said there are roughly about 10,000 open access consumers in TN, all of whom are HT consumers with a capacity of above 112 kW.
Venkatachalam further said the state government has to keep in mind that when electricity tariff goes up, the cost of other services such as transport and consumer products would also increase.
V Bharathi Kannan, director (legal) of Renewable Energy Producers Association, said, “All export industries are anticipating huge problems due to the new tariffs of the US.” He feared such an increase of over 11-fold may lead to many industries putting up the shutters in Tamil Nadu. Contending that the intention behind such a move appeared to be to discourage the system of power being purchased from third parties and exchanged, and have a monopoly for TNPDCL.